Being here
by Emy2005
Summary: CLOIS! Clark returns after 2 months on the Artic and what he finds… well, you’ll have to read to find out! COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

Title: Being here  
Author: Emy2005  
Summary: Clark returns after 2 months on the Artic and what he finds… well, you'll have to read to find out CLOIS!  
Spoilers: Season 4  
Disclaimer: I don't own Smallville or the characters. I'm just a poor college student having fun with them.

It's my first fanfic, guys, so please be kind. And don't forget to review! 

**Chapter 1  
**  
Clark walked around the Fortress again. It had been two months ago that he had discovered this place, and there were still so many things left to explore and understand. Everything there was to know about Krypton was there: the way they lived, their technology... how the planet was ultimately destroyed and how his parents had sent him here hoping that their son would survive and make a difference to the people of Earth. Not how Clark had always thought: his father hadn't meant for him to conquer, he had meant for him to serve. And now, looking at the statues of Jor-el and Lara, two people he had finally begun to consider as parents, he reached a conclusion: it was time to go home.

Clark stopped on the front door of his house. He had been shocked to see the house look so different. There was a new bright red roof and the house seemed to have just been painted. He was starting to feel guilty again about leaving his parents all summer without checking to see if they were okay after the meteor shower, when he heard a familiar voice coming from kitchen. He peered through the window and saw the last person he was expecting to be there.

But there was something about Lois that seemed different, apart from her hair being shorter and a little darker. She was talking to his mother and she didn't look agitated, or sarcastic, or had on her face any of the looks he had grown accustomed to seeing her throw him. She looked serene, almost sad, beautiful. Startled by the fact that he had just thought of Lois Lane as beautiful, he remembered that he had been staring at her for several minutes. He decided it was time to go inside.

As he opened the door and entered the kitchen he saw two shocked faces looking back at him. His mother got up and ran to hug him. Lois stood still.

"Clark, honey, oh my God, I was so worried! Are you okay?", were the first words out of Martha's mouth.

"Yeah, I'm okay, mom. Sorry for not coming back sooner", he said, not looking her in the eyes and glancing at Lois, so his mother would understand that what exactly happened to keep him from coming back sooner was not something to be discussed in front of Lois.

Turning to look at Lois, Clark said, smiling: "Lois. I wasn't expecting to find you here." And when she didn't say anything he continued: "So, how was Europe? Ran out of people for you to annoy there?"

"Clark.", his mother said in a serious tone.

"It's okay, Mrs. Kent." Then, turning to Clark, "I didn't go to Europe, Clark. I felt like I was needed here more." And when Clark opened his mouth to try to fix what he had just said, she added in a tone that lacked sarcasm, that wasn't flirting like it used to be, "It's a good thing you came back. People were worried about you, Clark.", and she headed upstairs.

Clark felt upset about what he had said, especially because he thought if he had been there, Lois wouldn't have thought she was so needed and she wouldn't have missed her trip. But strangely enough, what kept coming back to his mind was how she had said "People were worried about you, Clark.", like she wasn't one of those people. And he didn't know why he cared.

"Sit down, Clark. I'll get you something to eat.", his mother said, trying to bring him back from his thoughts.

"What happened, mom? I mean, the house looks like it was recently repaired, the way Lois said she was needed here more... And where's dad?"

At the mention of Jonathan, he saw his mother stiffen.

"Mom?"

"When we were leaving the farm, before the meteor shower, we ran into Jason. He wanted to know about the stones, wanted us to tell him where they were... but of course we couldn't tell him anything. But before he could really hurt us, a meteor crashed into the house. It hit Jason. He was killed instantly."

Clark listened in shock. Nobody deserved an end like that, not even Jason. "What about you and dad?"

Tears were forming in Martha's eyes, "Your father jumped over me, to protect me. He was severely burnt. I don't know what would have happened if Lois hadn't gotten here when she did!"

She was sobbing and Clark stood up and hugged for a long time, blaming himself for everything.

When Martha's sobbing subsided, Clark finally asked her: "Where's dad?"

Martha, rubbing away the rest of her tears, answered that he was still in the hospital, but that he was doing much better, and wasn't on the Intensive Care Unit anymore.

"I don't know what I'd have done without Lois. I was so worried about your father and about you. I felt like it was last summer all over again, and I didn't know if I had the strength to go through it all another time. But Lois stood by me during everything: she would come to the hospital and bring me something to eat, because she knew I wouldn't think about eating, and she would stay with me and try to take my mind off of everything that was going on, while still comforting me, and giving me hope that I would have my boys back. She was running The Talon by herself, because I couldn't concentrate on anything else. When you arrived, I was telling Lois that she should get her life back, that it wasn't fair that she was putting her life on hold just because of us. Her father was really mad at her for not going to look for Lucy with him. He came here to talk to her and bring her with him, but she said she couldn't leave. He asked her how she could just turn her back on family, and she answered that that was exactly what she didn't plan on doing. They haven't talked to each other ever since, and it's all my fault."

"No, mom. It's all **my** fault. I should never have just left you here. I should have known better by now."

"Where were you, Clark?", Martha asked, not mad, just tired.

And Clark told her everything. How he got the stones together, how they became a crystal when united, how he found himself in the middle of the Artic, and the fortress that appeared when he threw the crystal.

When he finished explaining what was inside the fortress, Martha was overwhelmed. All she could say was: "How did you get back?", to which Clark answered "I ran." Martha couldn't believe it: "You **ran** all the way here from the Artic?" Clark shrugged sheepishly. "What else could I do? Fly?".

Just then, they heard a noise upstairs, like something really heavy had fallen on the floor. Martha started moving towards the stairs when Clark stopped her. "I think I should go, mom. I owe her an apology… and a thank you."

**To be continued**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"Dammit!" muttered Lois when her suitcase fell on the floor. "Why did I have to bring so much junk?"

"What are you doing?" asked Clark on the doorway.

"Did you become blind sometime during these past two months? What does it look like I'm doing? I'm packing, Clark." she said irritated.

"You're leaving?" Clark said, before he could hide the disappointment in his voice.

"What? You of all people can understand the concept of 'leaving'", she responded icily.

Clark averted his eyes when she looked at him and said "I'm sorry. My mom just told me everything that happened. I'm sorry you had to miss your trip to take my place and do the things **I** was supposed to do."

"**That's** what you're apologizing for! Do you think I would have gone to Europe after seeing your parents like that! I would have stayed anyway!" she spat out. Then she added "**Nobody** could take your place, Clark. Your mother needed her son and you weren't here. I kept trying to give her hope that her husband would be okay and that you would come back safe and sound, but I had no idea what was going to happen. Where the hell were you!"

"Lois..." Clark didn't know what to do. He couldn't tell her the truth, but after everything Lois had done for them, he knew that the truth was the least that she deserved.

When he didn't say anything, Lois headed for the door. Whenever she had pictured Clark coming back, he had been a lot more forthcoming with information. Before she got even close to the door, Clark grabbed her arm. She felt a spark pass between them at the contact and when she looked in his eyes she knew he had felt it too.

Trying to focus again, Clark said "I'm sorry that I wasn't here." And when he saw the tears forming in her eyes, he realized she had been worried about him too. "I'm sorry that I worried you".

It was just too much for Lois. She had tried to be strong for two months and she was just exhausted. She started crying and Clark hold her, thinking about how strong this woman was, doing so much for people she had just met a year ago. He wasn't completely aware of it yet, but he was starting to fall for Lois Lane. Hard.

**To be continued**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Finally aware that they had been hugging for several minutes, Lois let go of Clark and said awkwardly "So, Smallville. Since you obviously don't want to tell me where you were - and I don't see any injuries on you, so I'm just gonna assume you weren't kidnapped - why don't you do something productive and visit your father?" Then, adding softly, "He's worried about you."

Clark noticed it was the first time she called him Smallville since he got back. He hadn't realized how much he missed it.

Outside his father's room on Smallville Medical Center, Clark was trying to muster up the courage to go inside. His mom had said she could talk to Jonathan and tell him everything that had happened to Clark, but he wanted to do this himself. His dad deserved it.

Finally getting inside, he saw his father sleeping and sat in a chair beside him.

Jonathan had various scars on his face, neck and hands, and Clark could only imagine how he must have looked on the day of the meteor shower. "And I was off in the Artic when my family needed me". He was surprised to realize that Lois really had become a part of that family, even before this all happened. And the way she helped Martha, being with her in the hospital... Clark knew the hospital atmosphere and the wait for Jonathan to get better must have brought painful memories from her own mother. It awed him even more.

"Clark?" his father said, sounding confused and hopeful at the same time.

"It's me, dad." Clark said, choking up as he saw tears in his father's eyes. "I'm so sorry. I should have been here..."

"I told you to do what you had to do, didn't I? And it wasn't your fault. What happened?"

Clark sighed and told his father everything he had already told Martha.

Leaving the hospital, Clark felt a little better. His father still wasn't entirely convinced that Jor-el was a good guy, but he hoped it really was true, and was happy that all the knowledge of the stones hadn't fallen into the wrong hands.

When he was telling his mother how he had gotten the second stone, he remembered Lana, and how she seemed to be in trouble, but he had forgotten all about her when he went to talk to Lois. Now, after retelling the story to his dad, he was determined to find Lana.

**To be continued**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Entering The Talon, Clark went up the stairs and knocked on Lana's apartment door. When she opened the door, she was surprised to see Clark.

"Clark, you're back!" she said, hugging him.

"Yeah", said Clark uncomfortably. Then, noticing who else was in the room: "Chloe!"

"Hey, stranger." Chloe said, also hugging him. "God, where have you been?"

"It's... complicated." Lana and Chloe exchanged looks.

"A lot of things have been going on while you were gone, Clark", Lana told him.

"I know. I already talked to Lois and my parents".

"We're really sorry about that" Chloe started, "but there are other things we didn't want Lois or your mom to worry about. They had enough problems as it was. But you have to know about this."

"What is it?" Clark asked anxiously.

Lana started telling him about what happened to Jason's mom and how Lex wanted the stone for himself. Then Chloe continued, saying that when he saw the stone he had was gone, and Chloe was the only one around, he brought her to the caves and started asking questions about Clark, until they saw a white light. Clark tensed when hearing this, but Chloe said Lex only saw the blinding light when he went to have a closer look.

"And what did you see?" Clark asked, trying not to sound worried.

Chloe saw the look on his face and knew he wasn't prepared to tell her. She was tired of pretending, but she wanted him to trust her enough to tell her someday. So she said exactly what she had told Lana when she had asked the same question almost two months ago: "All I saw was a bright white light".

Clark sighed and Lana started talking again, about how Lex had arranged for a helicopter to take her to Metropolis, but that it was hit by meteor rocks and crashed still in Smallville. She said the pilot had died and when she got out of the helicopter she saw something.

"What?"

"A spaceship", Lana answered.

Clark's mind began racing. It couldn't be. He was the last survivor of his planet. Could it be somebody from a **different** planet?

"Was there anything inside it?" It was all he could say.

"Yeah", Lana answered. "I had never seen anything like it before. It seemed like a werewolf, with big, sharp claws, and its eyes... I didn't know if it was real or if I was hallucinating. Then it just left. It didn't even try to hurt me."

"Did it hurt anyone?" Clark asked.

"That's the weird part. Well, weird**er**. It hasn't been seen ever since."

"Where's the ship now?"

Chloe and Lana exchanged glances. "When Lex and I left the caves," Chloe said, "after he had tried, and failed, to discover where the light had come from, he tried to make sure Lana had gotten safely to Metropolis. When he discovered that the helicopter never got to Metropolis, he went looking for Lana in another helicopter and I came along. We found her in a short time, along with the ship. Lex soon made arrangements for what was left of the helicopter to be moved to Luthorcorp in a truck. But the crashed helicopter wasn't the only thing in that truck", Chloe finished.

Clark didn't know what to say. Lex had the ship. "And we can't even know if there was anything else inside it", Clark said, defeated.

"Well, I never said **that**", Chloe said smiling.

**To be continued**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"You BRIBED a guy?" Clark didn't even know why he was surprised. He should have known such a _little_ thing like the ship been under heavy surveillance at Luthercorp wouldn't have stopped Chloe.

"I just hated the thought of letting Lex do whatever he wanted with it. And since I couldn't do anything to stop it, I thought I could at least know what he's been up to." answered Chloe simply.

"What **has** he been up to?", Clark asked.

"He hasn't figured anything out yet, as far as I know. I think he's as confused about everything as we are", Chloe responded.

"Did you two ask him anything about the ship?"

"He said it wasn't something we should worry about", Lana said, "and that what _I_ should be worried about is what his legal team is doing to keep me from jail. With emphasis on _his_."

"And after seeing how he can be when he really wants something, I thought we shouldn't press the matter, so I started looking for, well, _alternative_ ways of getting information.", Chloe finished.

Clark still had trouble believing how many things had happened while he was gone. And the way Lex was acting, while not exactly surprising, still hurt him. Clark was beginning to think there was a whole other side of Lex that they were just starting to glimpse. Trying to focus again, "So, this guy you paid off, was he able to tell you anything about what was inside the ship?"

"Even better. He took photos. Let's go to my house and I'll show you", Chloe answered.

"Okay, I just have to check in with Lois and my mom and let them know I'm going to your place."

"Since when do you check in with _Lois_?", Chloe asked, a curious look in her eyes.

"Uh..." Clark said, not really knowing how to answer. The truth was he hadn't even thought about what he said, it had just felt natural. Blushing, he answered the first thing that came to his mind "I just feel like I owe her, after everything she's done for my family."

"Does that mean your fighting days are over?" asked Chloe smiling.

"Well, I never said **that**", Clark answered, mimicking her.

"That was Clark, Lois. He said he already left the hospital and is going to Chloe's." Martha said, entering Lois' room. She smiled to herself. After the last few months it really had become her room.

"Oh, thanks, Mrs. Kent." said Lois distractedly, staring out the window.

"Your bags are packed." stated Martha, a mix of surprise and sadness in her voice.

When Lois turned around, Martha couldn't help thinking how much Lois had changed since the two of them had met almost a year ago. She was still funny, sarcastic and all the distinctive qualities that made her Lois Lane. But there was more now. As if the circumstances had brought out something in her she herself didn't know existed. Looking into her eyes now, Martha didn't see just a college girl that sleeps in pajamas and bunny slippers (even though she still wears them every night). Martha saw a woman who was finally starting to realize that she could make a difference, and she couldn't be prouder.

"Mrs. Kent," she started shakily "I just want you to know that I'm not relieved Clark got back; I mean, I _am_ relieved he got back, but I don't want you to feel like I was just waiting for him to get back so I could run away, because I _never_ felt that. I would have stayed to help even if Clark was here and..."

"I know you would, Lois" Martha interrupted her knowingly. "And I would never think you were running away. I haven't told you this, but I'm really proud of you. And I'm sure your mom would be too, if she could see the woman you have become."

Her eyes glistening with tears, she willed herself not to break down for the second time in just one morning. "Thank you" was all she could say.

Lois sat down on her bed and Martha followed. They spent a while like this until Lois broke the silence. "I wrote an article about the meteor shower almost two months ago. I was feeling so useless seeing what had happened to the town that I just sat down and started writing, as a way to get my frustrations out of my system. I never meant for anyone to read it, but Chloe saw it one day while she was here and said it was really good. I just scoffed at her, but she sent it to the Daily Planet behind my back. So, imagine my surprise when I got a call from the editor saying he had liked my article and that I could probably be good with enough practice, considering how this article was already a marked improvement over my _first_ one, which I found out later had been written by Chloe using my name. He said he could offer me an internship and maybe even a part-time job, if I don't end up being completely talentless."

"Honey, that's great! Why didn't you tell me?"

"I knew you would make me go, and I wanted to stay. I wasn't even sure journalism was something I wanted to pursue. But I've thinking about it lately and now that Mr. Kent is better and Clark is here to help you it just feels like I should give it a try. I'm really gonna miss you, Mrs. Kent."

Hugging her, Martha said "I'm really gonna miss you too, Lois. And you know you can come back whenever you want. You're practically a Kent, already!"

Smiling, she thanked Martha again, grabbed her bags and got into her car, headed to Chloe's to say goodbye to her and Clark.

**To be continued**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

On her way to Chloe's, Lois kept thinking why she had reacted so strongly to Clark getting back. She was the General's daughter, showing emotions had never been a choice. She remembered right after her mother had died, when she was so sad she kept crying all the time, until the General had said to her that she was the big sister, she was the one responsible for setting the example for Lucy. That was a big responsibility for a six year-old.

She tried to convince herself that she had been mad at Clark for leaving his parents, for worrying them, heck, even worrying her, but she knew that wasn't really the reason. She had been mad at him for leaving her.

It wasn't like she was in love with him or anything, come on, it was Smallville! But living with him and his parents for months had finally given her a sense of security, of stability, that she had never had before. And the stupid meteor shower had taken that away from her. She couldn't yell at the meteors, she couldn't blame the Kents and she hadn't known if she could blame Clark, since she didn't know what had happened to him, but when he came back without a real reason for being gone, she knew she had found a real target to focus her anger on. But she was still glad he was back.

Arriving at Chloe's she got out of the car and knocked on the door.

Clark had been staring at the pictures Chloe had shown him when they heard the knock on the door and she got up to answer it.

Clark anxiously looked at the picture in his hands. The inside walls of the ship were covered with drawings, many he had already seen on the cave walls, and one word written in Kryptonian, over and over again: Kal-el.

"Hey" he heard Lois' voice. He smiled. As much as he hated to admit it, being around her made him happy. He had missed it.

"What is that?" she said, taking the picture from Clark's hands. Clark and Chloe exchanged looks. Chloe told Lois to sit down.

"Why didn't you tell me about this sooner, Chloe?"

"Because I didn't want you to worry."

"And how am I not supposed to worry when you do things like this! The guy you bribed works for Lex. What if he tells Lex you've been paying him for inside information?"

"If I hadn't done anything, we would never know what was inside the ship."

"And what good did it do knowing what was inside it? How are we gonna figure out what it means?"

"_We_?" both Clark and Chloe asked in unison.

"I know you, Chlo, and I know you're not dropping this until you get to the bottom of it. I'm not going to let you do this alone. Last time you decide to go up against a Luthor, I received a message telling me you were dead. I'm not taking that chance."

"She's not doing this alone, Lois. Lana and I are going to help her."

"No offense, but what exactly are two going to do? Lana has already been helping Chloe and they still don't know anything. You think _you_ can solve the mistery, Kent?" Lois smirked.

"And you think _you_ can, _Lane_?" Clark answered back.

"Guys!" Chloe intervened. "This isn't getting us anywhere near a solution. If you can be civil towards each other, _maybe_ we can try to come up with a plan. What do you think?"

Lois and Clark looked at each other.

"Fine." They answered.

After deciding to go to the Talon to meet up with Lana, they got out of the house and Chloe headed for her car. Clark followed Lois to hers.

Getting inside, he noticed that the bags she was packing when he left were in the back seat.

"You're going back to Metropolis?" he said, indicating the bags.

Looking at the back seat, Lois remembered why she had gone to Chloe's house in the first place. She had gotten so immersed into the spaceship situation that she had completely forgotten about her decision to leave. "I guess that will have to wait" she thought to herself.

"Not anymore." she answered.

Clark didn't know what to say. He knew it would be useless to try to convince her to go. And deep down, he wanted her to stay. He knew she wouldn't stay forever. Lois would eventually go back to college, find a major she felt passionate about, meet a lot of new and interesting people, get on with her life... forget him. Was that why he didn't want her to go? Why should he care if she forgot about him? Then he remembered all the times he had thought about Lois during those last two months: every time he discovered something new about Krypton, he would picture Lois rolling her eyes at all this "alien stuff"; every night when he went to sleep, he thought that she was not there to get him out of his own bed; when he went to take a shower, he would smile to himself that he didn't have to worry about her barging in. He suddenly realized he had thought more about Lois than about anyone else.

Interrupting his thoughts, Lois announced "We're here."

**To be continued**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

After hours of discussing and analyzing all the possibilities, they were still nowhere near a plan.

"We had already spent a lot of time thinking about this before you two found out about it. I don't think there's much we can do if we don't have a lead." Lana finally said out loud what they all had been thinking.

Clark wished he could tell them what he knew about the drawings and the symbols, but he had to keep quiet.

"Let's just take a break and cool our heads for a while." Chloe said.

"I'll get us something to eat." said Lois getting up.

"I'll help you." Clark volunteered.

"You're offering _help_? Wow, I don't know who you were with those last couple of months, but they sure have taught you manners" Lois said, feigning shock.

"Okay, I'm sitting down again."

"Hey, you're not backing out now!" Lois said, grabbing his arm and leading him towards the counter.

"They seem happy, don't they?" Lana asked. "I mean, it's been a while since I've seen Lois smile, and Clark... I really don't remember him being that relaxed before she came along." She still wasn't over Clark. She knew there was a part of her that would never stop loving him, but she had already started to realize that maybe they weren't the one for each other. She remembered how good Jason made her feel when they first started dating, how it had felt nice to just love someone and be happy, without all the baggage and all the angst. Looking at Clark and Lois laughing on the counter made her think how much Clark seemed comfortable around her, like he was finally being himself. She knew he hadn't realized it yet, but she was happy that he was on his way towards happiness.

Chloe wasn't over Clark either. But she had gotten used to the idea that she and Clark weren't meant to be a long time ago. Of course it still hurt to see him with someone else, but as a friend she really wanted him to be happy. And Lois... She had never seen Lois open up to anyone and she seemed to be finally opening up to Clark. Chloe knew Lois' fake smiles, the ones she usually put on so that everyone would know she was okay, but looking at her and Clark on the counter like Lana had done, she knew that smile wasn't one of them. Lois was the sister she never had, she would do anything to make her happy. And if "anything" meant finally letting go of Clark Kent, she would have to find a way to do that.

"Clark Kent and Lois Lane. Kind of has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?" Chloe said and they both started giggling.

"What's so funny?" Clark asked, sitting down.

"Nothing." Chloe said. "We were just… " But she didn't have time to finish what she was going to say. They all heard a loud noise coming from the back alley.

"Stay here, I'll go see what it is." Clark started to say, but Lois was already standing up.

"Lois, this can be dangerous."

"So you shouldn't go alone."

"Lo, stay here. Clark can take care of himself" Chloe said, looking at Clark.

"We can stay here and argue or we can go see what made the noise. I'm not going to just sit here."

Seeing it would be worse to continue trying to convince her, he just told her to stay behind him. Lana and Chloe followed.

Opening the back door, Clark didn't see anything unusual. When he stepped outside to get a closer look, something jumped at him and before he had time to react he felt all his strength draining and he fell to his knees. The monster Lana had described was standing in front of him holding a piece of kryptonite.

Without even thinking, Lois went straight for the monster, punching him, but getting hit back hard in return, making the monster drop the piece of rock he was holding, which Chloe quickly grabbed and went inside the Talon to take it away from Clark.

Starting to feel better, Clark got to his feet, but the monster had gone. He saw Lois on the ground and ran to her side. She had a really nasty cut on her arm and was losing a lot of blood. Clark took her in his arms and they all got into Chloe's car, with Lana on the passenger's seat next to Chloe, and Clark on the backseat, holding Lois and trying to convince her, as much as himself, that she would be okay.

**To be continued**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Clark, Chloe, Lana and Martha sat waiting in the hospital waiting room. Clark sometimes thought he had spent more time here during the last four years than at school.

The doctors had asked them what had caused the cut, but they lied that they didn't really see the animal, that it all happened so fast. Lois had arrived at the hospital in shock after losing so much blood, and had needed a transfusion. The claw had sliced her brachial artery and her humerus, the doctors had said, but there hadn't been any major nerve damage. She had undergone surgery and was in the recovery room. They were waiting for her to be transferred to her own room so they could see her.

Chloe had tried to talk to Lois' father, but he was out of the country.

A doctor finally came to tell them that they could see Lois, but that she was still under the effect of the anesthetic, and that they should enter one at a time.

Clark told Chloe to go first and they stood waiting until she got back.

Clark entered her room next, and sat in the chair by her side, just like he had done this morning when he went to see his father.

Lois looked a little pale, and her arm was immobilized. Clark reached out and started stroking her hair.

"Why did you have to do that, Lois?" Clark whispered. He remembered her charging at the monster as soon as he had fallen to the ground. If she hadn't done that, the monster wouldn't have dropped the kryptonite and he could have been killed. It seemed the only thing it was interested in was Clark. He also remembered Chloe running inside the Talon with the meteor rock. She must know now the effect that it has on him, but he couldn't worry about that now. All he could focus on was Lois and that she was safe. But he didn't know for how long. If that thing attacked again...

"It was all my fault." Clark said aloud.

"God, you really do love pity parties, don't you?" Lois spoke softly.

Clark smiled broadly at seeing her awake.

"Where's that thing?"

"It got away."

"Great." Then, looking at her arm "How bad is it?"

Clark told her what the doctors had told him.

"I won't have to stay here long, will I?" asked Lois worriedly.

Clark smiled and said that he didn't know, but that she really should get some rest. It was then that he realized his hand was still in her hair. She didn't seem to have noticed, and he didn't want to break their contact, so he remained still.

She had noticed it, though, and it was making her feel safer, so she didn't say anything.

"Lois" Clark started, "I need to go somewhere."

Sensing something weird in his tone of voice, she asked "Will you be gone long?"

Clark had decided to go to the Fortress again, to see if there was anything there that could help him deal with this monster. He didn't want to leave after having just returned, but he had to do something to prevent what had happened tonight from happening again.

Not stopping to think about what he was doing, he gently caressed the side of Lois' face. She closed her eyes.

"I don't know. But I'll be home as soon as I find some answers."

"You're going to the same place you were before, aren't you?"

"Yeah."

They both stood quiet for a while, just enjoying the proximity.

"Can you tell my mom I had to leave? She wouldn't let me go if I told her."

"So you're just going to let her be mad at _me_ for not trying to stop you. Nice of you, Kent." She said smiling.

Clark smiled too and started to get up to leave and Lois caught his hand.

"Can you just... stay here with me until I fall asleep? I just have this thing with hospitals." she said averting his eyed and blushing a little. "I mean, people don't even try to make this a comforting place. Look at the color of these walls and don't even get me started on..."

"Lois."

"What?"

"I'll stay here with you." he said, taking her hand and sitting by her side.

**To be continued**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Clark had been searching for a week in the Fortress and still hadn't found anything. He was starting to think this monster didn't have anything to do with Krypton after all. But then, why would it be specifically targeting him?

He wanted to go home and see how Lois was, but he had to have answers before coming back, he had to have a way to defeat this thing. And even if he didn't like it, being away meant the people he loved wouldn't be caught in the crossfire, like Lois was.

"Did I just consider Lois a person I love?" he thought surprised. He knew his feelings for Lois had been changing for a while, but he still wasn't sure what those feelings were now. It felt so different from anything he had ever felt before. Whenever he thought about Lana, there was always this anxiety, everything was so complicated. But thinking about Lois always brought a smile to his face. She just made him feel happy no matter how bad the situation seemed. Was that love?

At the Kent farm, Mrs. Kent was doing everything she could to make Lois feel comfortable. After two months of Lois taking care of her, she was more than happy to return the favor.

"Are you sure you don't want anything? You can't strain yourself, you know? I can make you that dessert you like, it won't take long."

"Mrs. Kent, just go see your husband, I'll be fine, don't worry." Lois said, smiling. Even though she was always telling Martha she didn't need any pampering, she was actually enjoying it. It had been a long time since anyone had pampered her.

"I won't take long, I promise." Mrs. Kent said, giving her a kiss and leaving.

Going up to her bedroom, Lois closed the door and sat on the bed. As they had done a lot over the past two weeks, her thoughts wandered to Clark.

"Where is he? And why does it have to be such a secret? And besides, what sort of place doesn't have a telephone, so he can at least say if he's still alive! And WHY do I have to think about him every time I'm alone?" she thought.

"Lois?"

"Oh, my God, I'm starting to hallucinate!" she said aloud.

There was a knock on her door. Suspiciously, she got up to answer.

"Clark."

"Hey. I'm back."

"I can see that."

"God, how I missed him", "God, how I missed her" they both thought at the same time.

Before they even realized what they were doing, they found themselves in a hug so tight, Lois could barely breath. Not that she cared that much at that particular moment.

Finally releasing each other, Clark remembered her injured arm.

"I'm sorry, did I hurt you?"

"Nah, I'll live." and she winked at him.

Clark smiled.

"Did you find the answers you were looking for at the place you won't say anything about?" she smirked.

Smiling wider, he answered "Yeah."

**To be continued**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

"You're sure about this?" Chloe asked, looking at Clark.

"As sure as I can be." Clark answered.

He and Lois had gone straight to Chloe's house after he had told Lois what he had discovered.

"So let me get this straight." Chloe started. "You went on this 'trip', had what, an _epiphany_, and now you think you can beat this guy with a piece of a meteor rock?"

Lois smiled at Clark. She had said almost the same thing when he told her the story back at the farm.

He couldn't tell them the whole truth, but he had discovered in Jor-el's notes some information about some beings, called Idsts, that hunted a certain family until the last family member was eliminated. The description fit the monster that was in Smallville, but there wasn't anything about his family ever being a target. It wasn't hard for Kryptonians to kill them. The Idsts had a thick shell around the chest, but after that was broken, all the Kryptonians had to do was pierce the heart with a sharp piece of the planet's rock. The problem for Clark was, obviously, that he couldn't get near the kryptonite to pierce the Idst's heart with it. That was the reason he was asking for Chloe's help.

"I know it's hard to believe and I can't really explain any further, but can you please trust me on this?"

"Yeah, I can do that." Chloe answered sincerely.

"I still think it's too risky. You guys remember what happened last time. And Clark got to his knees just looking at that thing. How do you plan on breaking his _shell_?"

Lois hadn't realized Clark had gotten sick because of the meteor rock, and he wasn't ready to correct her mistake. Maybe someday...

"Lois, I can do this. Now I need you to go home and tell my mom what's going on. I want you both to stay there. And call Lana and tell her everything. Tell her not to leave the Talon."

"I could help, you know."

"Yeah, with one good arm." he smirked. "I'll be back soon. I promise."

"Okay." she said, still worried, and went to give Chloe a hug.

"Be careful, okay?" Lois said.

"I will be."

Then she turned to Clark. "I hate standing by the sideline, you know."

"I know." he said smiling and went to hug her. Having Lois in his arms right now made him feel like he could defeat 100 Idsts by himself. Reluctantly, he finally let her go.

Heading out the door, Lois said "Be safe. Both of you."

**To be continued**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

When Clark and Chloe were alone, he asked her "Are you scared?"

"Yeah." She smiled. "But I know you'll keep me safe."

"How do you know that, Chloe?" he asked, this time really wanting an answer.

"I... well, it's what you do, isn't it, Clark?" she said nervously.

"You know what happens when I get near the meteor rocks." It wasn't a question.

"Yeah." Chloe sighed.

"What else do you know?"

"Clark..."

"I'm really trying to be honest here, Chloe."

"No, you want to be sure of how much I know so you can know what powers to use against this thing."

So, Chloe knew about his powers. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner."

"Clark, you didn't tell me **at all**! The only reason we're having this conversation is because you have to. It's not because you know you can trust me with your secret."

"Do you know what my secret is?" Clark said seriously.

"I just said I know about your powers: you can run really fast, you can see through things, you can start fires just by looking at things, you have super-hearing. And, no, I didn't discover them by investigating you. I helped you hide them when you lost your memory." She didn't want to mention Alicia's part in her discovering the secret. Clark cared about her a lot.

"That's not the whole secret. And I'm going to tell you everything because I trust you, not because I have to."

Chloe's mind was still spinning. She had **not** seen that coming.

"Are you okay?" Clark asked.

Chloe hadn't said anything since he finished telling her exactly where he was from.

"Yeah, it's just... a **lot** to process." she said smiling.

"We kinda have to get going."

"Okay, let's go."

Chloe left in her car to get the meteor rock and Clark told her to meet him just outside the city. Clark initially thought about using the kryptonite Chloe had gotten from the Idst, but the rock was too small and blunt, so Chloe went to get a piece sharp enough to pierce a heart. She was still getting used to the idea that she would have to pierce something's heart.

Finding the rock was the easy part. Smallville was, after all, the meteor capital of the world. She hoped Clark's plan would work.

Clark was already waiting for Chloe when she arrived. She left the rock in her car a little far away and went to talk to Clark.

"Did you get it?"

"It's in my car." And after a while "So now we just wait? Do you really think it'll come?"

"Last time it attacked me on the day I got back, so I'm counting on the same thing happening again. You can still back out if you want to."

"No, I want to do this." she said sincerely.

Just then they heard a noise coming from the bushes and the Idst suddenly jumped at Clark from the darkness with a piece of kryptonite, but Clark used his heat vision on its hand before falling to his knees, making the Idst drop the rock, which rolled back to the bushes.

Starting to feel better, Clark got up and punched the Idst, which was surprisingly strong. Chloe ran to her car and waited until it was time for her to do her part.

The Idst was strong, but Clark was stronger. It was getting increasingly more tired with each of Clark's blows, and without the advantage of the kryptonite, it soon fell to the ground. Clark easily broke off the shell that covered its chest and signaled Chloe to come.

Chloe started to come closer when she saw Clark getting weaker.

"Go! I can do this alone!"

"I'm not leaving you." He was standing about ten feet away from Chloe and the Idst.

Chloe crouched down and looked at the beast.

"I'm sorry for putting you through this, Chloe."

"Hey, what are friends for?" And then she punctured the Idst's heart.

**To be continued**


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

Martha and Lois were worried sick at home waiting for news. Martha was afraid Lois would make a hole on the floor from all her pacing around the kitchen. She was about to try to tell her again to sit down when they heard the sound of Chloe's car in the driveway.

Both women were outside in a heartbeat.

Chloe got out of the car first and gave Lois a big hug, telling her it was over. Clark got out and hugged his mom, letting her know everything was okay.

When Clark and Lois finally looked at each other, it felt like they hadn't seen each other for months. Clark got to her side so fast he later wondered if he had used his powers. Hugging her now, after having defeated the beast that had occupied a lot of his thoughts over the past two weeks, he didn't remember ever being this happy. And since his mom and Chloe had gotten inside the house to give them some privacy, nobody noticed that they were hovering about a feet from the ground, not even Clark and Lois, who were too busy finally having their first kiss under the stars.

**Three weeks later**

"Do you really have to go?" Clark asked Lois, as she finished putting her bags in the car.

"Come on, Smallville, don't make this harder on me." she said, kissing him lightly.

The last three weeks had been perfect. Sometimes Clark would just stare at Lois and think about how lucky he was. Now she was going to Metropolis to try to find herself, and he was happy for her. Lois had said that now that he was starting college he would be able to try to find himself too. But he knew he didn't need it anymore. He had found himself in her.

"I got you a gift." Clark said, giving her a little box.

Opening it, Lois found a silver bracelet with a turquoise square.

"It's beautiful, Clark. Thank you." she said, putting it on her wrist.

"Now whenever you look at the bracelet you can know I'm right there with you."

Holding back her tears Lois told him "But I didn't get you anything."

"You didn't need too." And pointing to his heart "There's no way I can forget you're right here."

They kissed passionately, wanting that kiss to never be over. They knew that wasn't goodbye. There were just some things they had to do before they finally got their happy ending. But now they both had that happy ending to look forward to.

Finally breaking the kiss, Lois got into her car and said before driving off "See you around, Smallville."

Watching her car disappear from view, Clark said to himself "You sure will, Metropolis."

**The end**


End file.
